Santa Fe High School students and families got a big scare Thursday when the school was forced to shelter in place.

Students raised red flags after they saw a SnapChat message that read, "boutta shoot up sfh" (sic), with a photo of what looked like a gun. Police said a 15-year-old posted it, and officers were there within minutes.

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"Certainly the information we had from the school at the time was that it looked like a real gun, and it certainly looks like that from the photograph," said Lt. Michele Williams.

After doing some investigating on campus, police were able to take a student into custody. When they searched his car, they found an airsoft pellet gun, which police said is still considered a deadly weapon.

"Per the statute, it is considered a deadly weapon because it does have a projectile, so it can project something out of the weapon," said Williams.

Police said the student only has himself to blame for getting caught so quickly, because they said he'd previously posted a Snapchat message showing his ID card.

In addition to criminal consequences, the school district said it will take administrative action against him.